


Open Road

by ardentmuse



Series: Sirius Black Imagines [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff and Angst, Marriage Proposal, Post-First War with Voldemort, Post-Hogwarts, Road Trips, ardentmuse 3k drabbles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:21:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23923777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentmuse/pseuds/ardentmuse
Summary: Post the first war, Sirius takes you on a road trip through the Southwest US.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Reader
Series: Sirius Black Imagines [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1286765
Kudos: 44





	Open Road

“Where’re we headin’, babe?” you ask Sirius as you throw your leg over the back of his motorcycle somewhere around the Arizona-New Mexico border. You press your chest firmly to Sirius’s back as he flicks the kickstand and starts you on your way out of the gas station. 

As he waits for traffic to let him out, he turns to you over his shoulder and smiles.

“Wherever the day takes us, love. Relax and enjoy it.” 

You brush a bit of hair out of Sirius’s eyes, tucking it back into his helmet before you speed off down the highway. The sun is still high in the sky, beating off the leather of your jacket and making you sweat. But you still cling tightly to Sirius’s stomach, feeling the muscles of his core contract each time you touch a little too low and the lift and fall of his breath as he sings a song into the air, unable to be heard by any living soul. Wind rushes by your face, blocking out any sound but the thudding of your heart at having the love of your life so close and so happy well into the afternoon.

Every humbling site — from the gorgeous red rocks of the painted desert to the dry grassy fields lined with succulents that seem to reach the horizon — is made all the more special by the joy of knowing you are helping to fulfill your boyfriend’s dream. He had said once to you in school, long before you became a couple, that some day he’d ride away from it all. He’d head to the American open roads and be properly free. Now he had the American open roads he longed for but his idea of freedom had changed. Maybe it was the war. Maybe it was discovering the bodies of his best friend and his wife bleeding out on the floor as his godson let out ear-shattering cries from his crib all alone. Maybe it was the months of parenting that Sirius took on as Lily and James recovered in St. Mungo’s. But maybe, worst of it, it was knowing that James’s memories would never recover, that Sirius was but a stranger to the man who meant most to him in the world— that is other than Harry, his son in every way but blood. 

No, now freedom meant the ability to choose. And Sirius is choosing responsibility and commitment. You’d be heading back to England next week. It is Harry’s fourth birthday after all and even though Lily and James are healthy and caring for Harry once again, Sirius isn’t about to leave that boy behind for the sake of his own whims. But this month on the road, jumping from roadside motel to big city hotel and all the stops in-between, was not a memory you’d give up for everything, especially knowing Sirius’s teenage fantasy now included you in it.

Just as the sun was starting to fall low on the horizon, miles and miles of road behind you, Sirius pulls down a narrow road and slows the bike until you’re stopped at the edge of some trees. The elevation is a little higher than you expected for the desert but it made the night crisp, a refreshing cool on your cheeks as you take off our helmet. Sirius grabs your hand 

“Come on, love. The night is young.”

“And so are we?” you add playfully.

“Not as young as we used to be.” 

His words carry the weight of the world. It feels like an eternity since you had packed up your dorm at Hogwarts and took that train back to King’s Cross, your head on Sirius’s shoulder as tears rolled down your cheeks. That had seemed like the worst day then, leaving the school you loved behind. Godric, how naive you both had been.

You grip Sirius’s fingers tight as he guides you through the trees. The sand and rock under you feet make you unbalanced, especially after a day of riding, and it isn’t long before Sirius is bending down, offering his back for you to ride. You wrap your arms tight around his neck and he kisses your forearm before looping your legs through his arms. His back is hot and his hair is stuck to his neck but he’s still the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen, even if you can’t see his face.

When the trees begin to clear, you feel the breath catch in your chest. The Grand Canyon is more breath-taking than pictures can truly express. Ripples of color run along ridges going deep into the earth, so deep you can’t see the end. Light from the setting sun hits the peaks and ridges, offering your eyes a feast of sienna and rust, gold and ash. 

The sight overwhelms you so much that you almost miss Sirius’s words.

“You’ve carried me for so long, love, through some of the darkest times. Now let me carry you.”

Something about the way he says it — more like prayer than speech — makes your heart beat double with knowing just what he’s asking. His weight shifts as he reaches into his pocket. You nod into Sirius’s shoulder, tears rolling off your eyes as you lift your hand out toward the gorgeous stones in front of you. And as that cold metal slips on your finger, you don’t bother to look. It doesn’t matter. You rest once again against the man you love and take in this once in a lifetime view and kiss his neck for good measure. He may not be the playful, headstrong boy you fell in love with but he is a man braver and kinder than any Gryffindor has right to be. And nothing matters more than knowing you have tomorrow. A day ends and another begins, each with him right beside you.

**Author's Note:**

> https://ardentmuse.tumblr.com/post/616798839705321472/sirius-black


End file.
